G5 Football Daily

What The CFP Selection Committee Said About Bumping Army Out of the Top 25

Joe Londergan

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken speaks to an official during the second half against the Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken speaks to an official during the second half against the Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images
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Up until last week, Army's undefeated run to start the season had them positioned as one of the G5's best candidates to reach the College Football Playoff. However, that undefeated run came to an end at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a 49-14 drubbing at Yankee Stadium.

With that loss, Army wound up unranked in the College Football Playoff's latest top 25 and their chances to reach that playoff are, essentially, dashed.

In a teleconference following this week's rankings reveal, Michigan Athletic Director and CFP Selection Committee Chair Warde Manuel told G5 Football Daily the committee's thoughts on Army's performance and what ultimately led to them falling from #19, all the way out of the top 25.

Essentially, Manuel notesd that the level of competition that Army has beaten throughout the year was not enough to cancel out the loss to the Irish.

"Look, Army has played well against their competition, but the reality is they had a really -- one of the lowest or highest, however you want to look at it, strengths of schedule, and they really got in that game against Notre Dame. We felt they were really dominated against that opponent."

"We moved them out of the top 25 based on what others had done also behind them, and so we'll continue to monitor Army, and we still think that they're a really good team. We just felt that given where they were this week that they moved out of the top 25."

Of the nine opponents that Army beat prior to that Notre Dame loss, only two have a winning record heading into the final week of the regular season. One of them was also an FCS team (Lehigh).

Army have already clinched their spot in the American Athletic Conference title game against Tulane, and can clinch hosting duties on Saturday with a home win over UTSA. That game is scheduled for Noon ET Saturday, broadcasting on CBS Sports Network.

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Joe Londergan
JOE LONDERGAN

Joe covers college sports from the Group of Five ranks and beyond. He has worked in the sports industry since 2008, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville, and a Master's degree from Seattle University.

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